Chapter 7~ High Hopes
The storm that had claimed Big Valley died down almost as swiftly as it had begun. For the first time all season, fishing was easier and it gave Northwestern and Fierce Allegiance a chance to catch up on the crab after a bad start to their seasons.
Northwestern, having gone so far north and west that she was within a few hours run of the Russian border, was pulling full pots over the rail. Pots filled with crab was the Bering Sea's best tonic for any tired or down crewman and it did lift the grieving ship's spirits a little. "That's a sight for sore eyes." She said. "With everything that's happened, how do you feel right now?" The cameraman asked. She sighed. "I'll always be sad about it. I mean, losing Big Valley is the same as a wife learning she's a widow. He and I were mates but what can I do? I can't bring him back. He loved this sea and his job as much as I do and I know that he'd want me to keep fishing." She chuckled, managing a faint smile. "Seeing these full pots though, it's a real morale booster and its one that I needed to be sure."
Seeing a pair of riders on the pot, Northwestern carefully timed hoist as it was brought up to the rail, then grabbed the two crab off the pot. Edgar had to pull his hand out of the way as he went to reach for them to avoid being bit. "Northwestern!" He complained. Northwestern chomped down on one of the crab, swiftly devouring it and tossed the other high in the air and caught it. A loud crunch was heard as the opilio became the white ship's dinner. Northwestern licked her lips and burped. "Oops, excuse me." She said. Everyone laughed and Sig reached out the wheelhouse window and gave his ship a pat. "Back to your old self then hmm." He said. "More or less." She answered.
Fierce Allegiance was having the opposite luck of Northwestern. He'd gone from blanks to single digits. "Is this the best I can do?" He grumbled. He was just about fed up with the low numbers he was getting and wondered if he would ever find the crab in time.